Going First.

When I was 18 my uncle paid for my ENTIRE family to go to the keys. Now I am Cuban, so when I say my entire family I mean every cousin and uncle and aunt and my Grandparents! One of our many family outings was getting into a giant boat, going out into middle of the ocean and going snorkeling. I love to swim, but not in waters where I can be eaten by a shark. I was initially a bit reluctant to jump into this crystal blue death trap, but it was beautiful and after all my cousins were in the water I decided to just jump in. I mean, if a shark does attack I have a good 1 in 15 chance that I won’t be the one eaten, right?

— I have lived my life like this. Waiting to see who’d go first and then I’d jump in. Trying to over analyze in my head if I did jump will I be hurt and what is the chance of that happening. Though I seem to always be the the first to jump, first to speak up, first to blaze a trail, I am really first with 67 million excuses, and facts on why jumping is not the thing to do. Recently I have found God bring this part of character to the forefront and ask me to start jumping first, but this time without asking questions. I feel Him stirring me to jump boldly and without fear…but I am still reluctant.

See you have to understand the rest of the story I began this blog with…I eventually jumped in the water, and after five minutes of bliss I swam into a school of jelly fish. It was the worst, and to this day I have never gone snorkeling and rarely go to the beach. The Ocean and I have never really recovered. There have been so many times I’ve felt called to something and put myself out there and in return was stung and deeply wounded. There have been times where I have heard God say, “Go First, Jump First” and I remember the time I was stung and decide not to jump and am disobedient.

As I have struggled with this God showed me something about Going First and I’d like to share it with you…I am not sure who reads my blogs ( I apologize for my horrible grammar and rants ) and I am not sure if you’re struggling with God telling you to STEP OUT…But here is what I have learned in the past couple weeks.

Going First is Dangerous — Know how to use your weapons (Ephesians 6:10-17)Going First is Lonely — Make sure you have clear communication with Jesus (Ephesians 6:18)Going First is Difficult– Remember you have a detailed game plan –Be Jesus in the Darkness. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

–You don’t need to know what you’ll combat if you GO FIRST, you need to have peace knowing you are not alone, you are equipped and your God is able.

4 Comments

I love this, Chari! I can’t even imagine what swimming into a school of jellyfish had to have been like, but I can certainly appreciate the reluctance you must have to go near the beach! This was a great analogy for the fear and hesitation we feel when putting ourselves “out there,” especially when we have first-hand experience with pain and rejection. I have probably struggled with that more than anything in my life – that boldness is great until it leaves you out there vulnerable and open to criticism and rejection. Then it makes you want to wrap yourself up in a blanket in the corner of your closet and never come out.

But I am learning that this is the process for how God strips us of ourselves and prunes our tree so that we bear the right fruit. If we’re not putting our branches out there, there is nothing for God to prune and no potential for yielding our fruit in due season.